Tour: Jack's Cafe & Houston Zoo
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
10:00 AM - Noon
About the Event:
This exclusive, fast-paced tour will focus on how the Houston Zoo’s LEED-certified buildings help the organization shrink its environmental footprint and operate sustainably to save wildlife.
Beginning with the newly opened Jack’s Café and Reflections event center, the Zoo’s first mass timber building and the final piece of its centennial master plan, the tour will then move through the Zoo’s most recently opened exhibit and back-of-house projects. In addition to Jack’s Café, tour stops will include three LEED Gold projects: the Birds of the World exhibit and Avian Care Environment, renovated West Admin staff building, and Houston Zoo Headquarters. Hear about the challenges of working on a century-old campus, supporting Zoo staff and animals, and balancing world-class facilities with resource conservation.
Tour Guides:
Colley Hodges, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, SITES AP Sustainability Director
Mark Hoffman, P.E., LEED Green Associate Senior Director of Planning, Design, and Engineering
Gretchen Foust, P.E. Project Manager
Mo De La Piedra, P.E., CFM Project Manager
